nfl
Winston knee injury overshadows Saints' victory over Bucs
Sean Payton addressed Jameis Winston's knee injury after the New Orleans Saints star was carted off the field at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton is concerned that the injury which Jameis Winston suffered a significant knee injury in the team's shock 36-27 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may be more serious than feared.
The Saints stunned Tom Brady and the reigning NFL Super Bowl champions in New Orleans, however, the win was overshadowed by Winston's injury. Facing his former team, Winston had to be taken off the field in the second quarter after sustaining a knee injury during a horse-collar tackle by Buccaneers linebacker Devin White.
Winston had completed six of 10 passes for 56 yards and a touchdown while scrambling for 40 yards before exiting the game with the score tied 7-7.
Afterwards, Payton told reporters of the two-time Pro Bowler: "I think it's significant. He felt something and he's on crutches right now. I don't want to say until I have a chance to talk with the doctors. I cried when I saw him coming in. It's hard."
Veteran backup Trevor Siemian replaced Winston and helped the Saints (5-2) top the Buccaneers (6-2). Siemian threw a touchdown, finishing 16-of-29 passing for 159 yards. P.J. Williams sealed the win after picking off seven-time Super Bowl champion Brady for a late 40-yard interception return.
"First I want to say how gutted I am for Jameis. This win was for him," said Siemian. "I just feel for the guy, I love him so much. Just being around him, you can't help it, he's got this infectious personality. And you're just frickin' gutted when you see anybody hurt. But watching him get hurt was tough."
Tampa Bay's White, who played alongside Winston before the QB joined the Saints in April last year, added: "He's a great guy. I'm gonna put an emphasis on that. All last year when they was playing and we was playing, he was texting -- I don't know if he was texting everybody, but me and him was close. When I came in, he kinda showed me around -- and just telling me how proud he was of me. Even when we won a Super Bowl, he was one of the first texts, like, 'Congratulations, man. I wish I could be a part of that, but y'all deserve it. You put a lot of work in, and we always talked about how special you all could be.' He's a great guy. You hate to see that happen. I hope it's not serious, man. I'm just praying for him. But it's a long season. [I] hope he can come back and fight with his team."